Lion hires White Agency for digital work on beer and wine brands

FMCG giant Lion has appointed the White Agency as the digital partner on its beer and wine brands.

The pitch was called in March to replace digital agency Holler, which had held the account for five years. Holler declined to take part in the pitch.

Other shortlisted agencies were Amnesia Razorfish, Sapient Nitro and New York based R/GA. This is the second piece of Australian business R/GA has pitched for in recent months, winning a place on Qantas’ agency roster for project work, leading to speculation that the agency will be opening an Australian office.

Matt Tapper, Beer, Spirits & Wine marketing director at Lion said in a press release: “Lion is looking to break new ground in the technology space and White is the agency best positioned to partner with us on the journey. Most importantly, White has a group of people who will join us in making a real difference, and have a great time doing it. In all honesty, we were spoilt for choice, in that Amnesia Razorfish, R/GA and Sapient Nitro were all extremely competitive. However the Lion team feel The White Agency best meets our needs.”

Sandy Park, MD at The White Agency said: “We’re thrilled about winning this business. Lion is one of Australia’s leading marketing organisations and to be selected to take them forward in the digital space is an honour. Throughout the pitch process, the Lion team not only showed their broad thinking but an openness to be challenged. We’re really looking forward to joining them to deliver some fantastic work”.